II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1630 

To establish in the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services the Federal Interagency Working 

Group on Reducing Child Poverty to develop a national strategy to 

eliminate child poverty in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2017 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish in the Administration for Children and Families 

of the Department of Health and Human Services the 

Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Child 

Poverty to develop a national strategy to eliminate child 

poverty in the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Poverty Reduc5 tion Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP. 

2 There is established in the Administration for Chil3 dren and Families of the Department of Health and 

4 Human Services a group which shall be known as the Fed5 eral Interagency Working Group on Reducing Child Pov6 erty (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’). 

7 SEC. 3. NATIONAL PLAN TO REDUCE CHILD POVERTY. 

8 (a) PRIMARY GOAL.— 

9 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL PLAN.—The 

10 primary goal of the Working Group is to develop a 

11 national plan— 

12 (A) to reduce, within 10 years after the 

13 date on which funding is made available to 

14 carry out this Act— 

15 (i) the number of children living in 

16 poverty in the United States to half of the 

17 number of such children as reported in the 

18 report of the United States Census Bureau 

19 on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance 

20 Coverage in the United States: 2015 

21 (issued in September 2016); and 

22 (ii) the number of children living in 

23 extreme poverty in the United States to 

24 zero; and 

25 (B) to reduce, within 20 years after the 

26 date on which funds are made available to carry 


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1 out this Act, the number of children living in 

2 poverty in the United States to zero. 

3 (2) CONSULTATION WITH NATIONAL ACADEMY

4 OF SCIENCES.—In developing the national plan 

5 under paragraph (1), the Working Group shall con6 sider all recommendations, research papers, and re7 ports published by the National Academy of 

8 Sciences, including the Social Services and Income 

9 Maintenance Research conducted using amounts 

10 made available under the ‘‘CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

11 SERVICES PROGRAMS’’ under the heading ‘‘ADMINIS12 TRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES’’ under title 

13 II of division H of the Consolidated Appropriations 

14 Act, 2016 (Public Law 114–113) and of the Consoli15 dated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115– 

16 31). 

17 (3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Working 

19 Group shall make substantial progress toward the 

20 development of the national plan. 

21 (b) ADDITIONAL GOALS.—The national plan under 

22 subsection (a) shall include recommendations for achieving 

23 the following goals: 

24 (1) Understanding the root causes of child pov25 erty, including persistent intergenerational poverty, 


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1 taking into account social, economic, and cultural 

2 factors. 

3 (2) Improving the accessibility of anti-poverty 

4 programs and increasing the rate of enrollment in 

5 such programs among eligible children and families 

6 by reducing the complexity and difficulty of enrolling 

7 in such programs. 

8 (3) Eliminating disparate rates of child poverty 

9 based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, English lan10 guage proficiency, ability, and geographic location in 

11 a rural, urban, or suburban area. 

12 (4) Improving the ability of individuals living in 

13 poverty, low-income individuals, and unemployed in14 dividuals to access quality jobs that help children 

15 and their families rise above poverty. 

16 (5) Connecting low-income children, discon17 nected youth, and families of those children and 

18 youth to education, job training, work, and the re19 spective communities in which those children and 

20 youth live in. 

21 (6) Shifting the measures and policies of Fed22 eral anti-poverty programs from the goal of helping 

23 individuals and families living in poverty to achieve 

24 freedom from deprivation toward the goal of helping 


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1 individuals and families rise above poverty and 

2 achieve long-term economic stability. 

3 (c) METHODS.—In developing the national plan 

4 under subsection (a), the Working Group shall employ 

5 methods for achieving the goals described in subsections 

6 (a) and (b), including— 

7 (1) studying the effect that child poverty has on 

8 the health and welfare of children, including access 

9 to health care, housing, proper nutrition, and edu10 cation; 

11 (2) measuring the effect of child poverty on the 

12 ability of individuals to achieve economic stability, 

13 including such effect on educational attainment, 

14 rates of incarceration, lifetime earnings, access to 

15 healthcare, and access to housing; 

16 (3) updating and applying improved measures 

17 of poverty that can meaningfully account for other 

18 aspects relating to the measure of poverty, such as 

19 the Supplemental Poverty Measure used by the 

20 United States Census Bureau; and 

21 (4) using and applying fact-based measures to 

22 evaluate the long-term effectiveness of anti-poverty 

23 programs, taking into account the long-term savings 

24 and value to the Federal Government and to State, 


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1 local, and tribal governments of practices and poli2 cies designed to prevent poverty. 

3 SEC. 4. OTHER DUTIES. 

4 In addition to developing the national plan under sec5 tion 3(a), the Working Group shall— 

6 (1) monitor, in consultation with the Domestic 

7 Policy Council and the National Economic Council, 

8 all Federal activities, programs, and services related 

9 to child welfare and child poverty; 

10 (2) establish guidelines, policies, goals, and di11 rectives related to the achievement of the goals of 

12 the national plan, in consultation with— 

13 (A) nongovernmental entities providing so14 cial services to low-income children and fami15 lies; 

16 (B) advocacy groups that directly rep17 resent low-income children and families; 

18 (C) policy experts; and 

19 (D) officials of State, local, and tribal gov20 ernments, including the working groups of the 

21 largest associations of State and local govern22 ment officials, who administer or direct policy 

23 for anti-poverty programs; 

24 (3) advise all relevant Federal agencies regard25 ing methods of effectively administering and coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Aug 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1630.IS S1630

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1 nating programs, activities, and services related to 

2 child welfare and child poverty, and resolving any 

3 disputes that arise between or among those Federal 

4 agencies as a result of such administration or co5 ordination; 

6 (4) provide recommendations to the Congress 

7 regarding how to ensure that Federal agencies ad8 ministering programs, activities, and services related 

9 to child welfare and child poverty have adequate re10 sources to increase public awareness of such pro11 grams, activities, and services, and how to maximize 

12 enrollment of eligible individuals; 

13 (5) identify methods for improving communica14 tion and collaboration among and between Federal, 

15 State, and local governmental entities regarding the 

16 implementation of State and local programs related 

17 to child welfare and child poverty, such as State pro18 grams funded under part A of title IV of the Social 

19 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (relating to 

20 block grants to States for temporary assistance for 

21 needy families), and submit recommendations re22 garding such methods to relevant Federal agencies 

23 and congressional committees; and 

24 (6) hold hearings in different geographic re25 gions of the United States to collect information and 


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1 feedback from the public regarding personal experi2 ences related to child poverty and anti-poverty pro3 grams, and make that information and feedback 

4 publicly available. 

5 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 

6 (a) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The Working Group 

7 shall be composed of no less than 6 members. 

8 (b) EXECUTIVE PAY RATE.—Each member shall be 

9 an official of an executive department who occupies a posi10 tion for which the rate of pay is equal to or greater than 

11 the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule 

12 under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (c) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION OF CERTAIN EXECU14 TIVE DEPARTMENTS.—The Working Group shall include 

15 at least one member who is an official of each of the fol16 lowing executive departments: 

17 (1) The Department of Justice. 

18 (2) The Department of Agriculture. 

19 (3) The Department of Labor. 

20 (4) The Department of Health and Human 

21 Services. 

22 (5) The Department of Housing and Urban De23 velopment. 

24 (6) The Department of Education. 


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1 (d) APPOINTMENT.—Each member shall be ap2 pointed by the head of the executive department that em3 ploys such member. 

4 (e) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—On request of the 

5 Chairperson, any head of a Federal agency shall furnish 

6 directly to the Working Group any information necessary 

7 to enable the Working Group to carry out this Act. 

8 (f) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 

9 life of the Working Group. 

10 (g) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

11 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 

12 was made. 

13 (h) QUORUM.—A majority of members shall con14 stitute a quorum. 

15 (i) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Working 

16 Group shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (j) MEETINGS.— 

19 (1) INITIAL MEETING PERIOD.—The Working 

20 Group shall meet on a monthly basis during the 

21 180-day period beginning with the date on which 

22 funds are made available to carry out this Act. 

23 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—After such 180- 

24 day period, the Working Group shall meet not less 


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1 than once every 6 months and at the call of the 

2 Chairperson or a majority of members. 

3 SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

4 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Working Group shall have a Di5 rector who shall be appointed by the Chairperson. 

6 (b) STAFF.—The Director may appoint and fix the 

7 pay of additional personnel as the Director considers ap8 propriate. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Director and staff 

10 shall be to achieve the goals and carry out the duties of 

11 the Working Group. 

12 SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 

14 2018, and annually thereafter, the Chairperson shall sub15 mit to the Congress a report describing the activities, 

16 projects, and plans of the Federal Government to carry 

17 out the goals of the Working Group, including— 

18 (1) an accounting of— 

19 (A) any increase in efficiency in the deliv20 ery of Federal, State, local, and tribal social 

21 services and benefits related to child welfare 

22 and child poverty; 

23 (B) any reduction in the number of chil24 dren living in poverty; 


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1 (C) any reduction in the demand for such 

2 social services and benefits for which children 

3 living in poverty and near poverty are eligible; 

4 and 

5 (D) any savings to the Federal Govern6 ment as a result of such increases or reduc7 tions; 

8 (2) an accounting of any increase in the na9 tional rate of employment due to the efforts of the 

10 Working Group; 

11 (3) a summary of the efforts of each State to 

12 reduce child poverty within such State, including the 

13 administration of State programs funded under part 

14 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 601 et seq.) (relating to block grants to States for 

16 temporary assistance for needy families); and 

17 (4) legislative language and recommendations 

18 regarding reducing child poverty and achieving the 

19 other goals and duties of the Working Group. 

20 (b) PUBLIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) ANNUAL REPORT AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC.— 

22 A version of the annual report required by sub23 section (a) shall be made publicly available. 

24 (2) ANNUAL UPDATE FROM FEDERAL AGEN25 CIES.—The head of each relevant Federal agency 


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1 shall post on the public Internet Web site of such 

2 agency an annual summary of any plans, activities, 

3 and results of the agency related to the goals and 

4 duties of the Working Group. 

5 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘anti8 poverty program’’ means a program or institution 

9 with the primary goal of lifting children or families 

10 out of poverty and improving economic opportunities 

11 for children or families that operates in whole or in 

12 part using Federal, State, local, or tribal govern13 ment funds. 

14 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi15 vidual who has not attained the age of 18. 

16 (3) DEPRIVATION.—The term ‘‘deprivation’’ 

17 means, with respect to an individual, that such indi18 vidual lacks adequate nutrition, health care, housing, 

19 or other resources to provide for basic human needs. 

20 (4) DISCONNECTED YOUTH.—The term ‘‘dis21 connected youth’’ means individuals who have at22 tained the age of 16 but have not attained the age 

23 of 25 who are unemployed and not enrolled in 

24 school. 


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1 (5) ECONOMIC STABILITY.—The term ‘‘eco2 nomic stability’’ means, with respect to an individual 

3 or family, that such individual or family has access 

4 to the means and support necessary to effectively 

5 cope with adverse or costly life events and to effec6 tively recover from the consequences of such events 

7 while maintaining a decent standard of living. 

8 (6) EXTREME POVERTY.—The term ‘‘extreme 

9 poverty’’ means, with respect to an individual or 

10 family, that such individual or family has a total an11 nual income that is less than the amount that is 50 

12 percent of the official poverty threshold for such in13 dividual or family, as provided in the report of the 

14 United States Census Bureau on Income, Poverty, 

15 and Health Insurance Coverage in the United 

16 States: 2015 (issued in September 2016). 

17 (7) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

18 agency’’ means an executive department, a Govern19 ment corporation, and an independent establish20 ment. 

21 (8) NEAR POVERTY.—The term ‘‘near poverty’’ 

22 means, with respect to an individual or family, that 

23 such individual or family has a total annual income 

24 that is less than the amount that is 200 percent of 

25 the official poverty threshold for such individual or 


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1 family, as provided in the report of the United 

2 States Census Bureau on Income, Poverty, and 

3 Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 

4 2015 (issued in September 2016). 

5 (9) POVERTY.—The term ‘‘poverty’’ means, 

6 with respect to an individual or family, that such in7 dividual or family has a total annual income that is 

8 less than the amount that is the official poverty 

9 threshold for such individual or family, as provided 

10 in the report of the United States Census Bureau on 

11 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in 

12 the United States: 2015 (issued in September 2016). 

Æ 


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